However, they are outnumbered by counter-protesters
The debate over affirmative action continued on CU’s campus Tuesday with the College Republicans and student groups such as the Student Outreach Retention Center for Equity choosing sides about how the government legislation has impacted students across the nation.
Affirmative action programs are mainly meant to help compensate underrepresented groups with equal opportunity that were once ignored in areas such as higher education, the workforce and political offices. This year, student groups have brought the issue back to the forefront on CU’s campus by having a more vocal opinion about whether affirmative action is more about race or discrimination on campus.
“The ignorance on campus about the issue is too large to ignore anymore, and today we are speaking up through a silent protest,” Guadalupe Loredo, a senior international affiars major, said.
Loredo joined other students Tuesday in a silent protest favorign affirmative action. Student groups involved in the protest also included the United Mexican American Students, among others, that all held the silent protest around an anti-affirmative action protest the CU College Republicans held.
“We need to increase the number of people of color on campus, and today we are just out here talking to the community too. We just want to make sure they get both sides of the story,” Loredo said.
The College Republicans held a bake sale, charging students of various races different prices. Whites ranked near the top, and blacks were charged relatively little. Their point is that affirmative action policies unfairly give preference to students while only considering race and little else. They were vastly outnumbered by counter-protestors, however.
CU and other campuses across the nation have been in the center of the debate over whether students are being judged on race or grades, which is the issue affirmative action directly deals with. Some CU’s students have been very vocal on both sides about the debate and how they have had to deal with racism on campus personally.
“What angers me today about this is the persistence of racism on campus and hatred because it is so discouraging,” said Zack Serrano, a senior ethnic studies major. “When you take classes not directly dealing with ethnic studies, you generally are in a more white class, and that is not actually very welcoming.”
Serrano and other minority students are in support of affirmative action because it is meant to help minority students gain more representation in higher education institutions. However, student groups such as the College Republicans at CU feel that in today’s climate, racism is no longer an issue and affirmative action has become obsolete.
“It is hard for us to say we do not believe in affirmative action, but we do believe in having more cultural programs,” said Jessica Merrill, a senior international affairs major. “I have not personally seen any direct racism, but it may be there. We do feel that affirmative action is a form of racism against us.”
Merrill and others against affirmative action say it may take away opportunities from students not in the minority and who may be more qualified to be accepted to a college or university.
“I’m not that well-versed with just CU’s affirmative action policies, but we’re here because we feel affirmative action is government-sponsored discrimination,” said Justin Yarusso, a junior political science major. “The only way we can get over racism is by having everybody completely comply with the American culture.”
Students on both sides now feel that becoming more educated on the issue will help everyone to better understand affirmative action and how it directly impacts students.
“I think people need to do their own research into affirmative action because the community overall needs to be educated on the issue before they judge,” Loredo said.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Renee Tavera at renee.tavera@thecampuspress.com.
